Cake Panel with Emma-Louise Boynton of The Venn, a non-partisan media platform using podcasts to help people better understand the 2020 U.S. Election and key issues.

That’s a great question. I think that in an age of so much news and just so much content generally, it can be really hard to keep on top of everything that’s going on, and more importantly, to make sure you actually understand the issues behind the headlines. You can’t do everything or keep abreast of it all, but I think if you set aside half an hour of uninterrupted time each day to focus on one topic that’s in the news that interests you, maybe by listening to a podcast or reading a long-form article on the issue, you can begin to build a firmer infrastructure of understanding around key issues.

Hi Emma-Louise! Thanks for doing this - newsletters and podcasts are two of my favorite things. Do you have plans for expanding to original coverage or exploring other platforms ahead of the 2020 election?

Yes! We plan on producing our own podcasts to address some of the issues or questions we feel other sources aren’t doing well enough, or at all. We are also planning on doing live events in the lead up to the election.

I have always been really interested in politics and current affairs, so the types of podcasts we recommend in our newsletter are the sorts of podcasts I really do love listening to in my own time anyway. But, when I do want a podcast-break from news and politics I go to the New York Time’s Modern Love podcast, which features well-known actors reading love stories penned by New York Times readers. Every story is so different and so poignant in its own way, I find them really moving. I also really like The Cut on Tuesdays by New York Magazine. They cover a wealth of different topic areas from one-on-one interviews with inspiring women on how they do what they do, to the financial baggage we inherit from our family. I always learn something interesting and unexpected from their podcasts.

Actually yes. In our last newsletter we recommended a really interesting interview with Kim Kardashian and the founding board member of the Innocence Project, Jason Flom, on criminal justice reform in the U.S.. The interview touched on a lot of really topical issues regarding America’s carceral system and I would definitely recommend it if you haven’t listened already. The podcast is called ‘Wrongful Conviction’.

Staying curious and asking questions. We all have biases. That’s the way people are. But it’s important to be aware of your conscious and unconscious biases, and to understand why you believe what you do and make the assumptions you make. Then, from there be curious. Seek out information and opinions from a variety of different sources. Maybe they will confirm your beliefs or maybe they will modify them, but either way you will be better informed. The second part is to understand why people who have different opinions hold their views. Try to discover that and then see if you can respect their views, even if you disagree with them. And lastly, don’t vilify them.

We think the 2020 election is a call to action for people to learn about the issues. But that’s not the end. Whoever is elected, with whatever platform they have, we believe people should continue to stay informed and engage in productive, robust discussions around political issues which don’t descend into the sort of mud-slinging, outrage-fueled debates we’ve become so used-to online. Civil discourse is integral to our democracy and we want The Venn to be the place where people know they can come to for just that.

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